S3/TE Gauge removal
Discussion
DrieStone said:
I'm trying to remove the speedo from my '83 TE (USA) to get it rebuilt. How do the knobs on the two dials come off? I started to pry one off, but didn't want to resort to unreasonable force (that plastic gauge cover isn't that robust.) Any hints or tips?
Hi,
Are spaeking of the two indicator light rheostats/dimmers? If so, the knobs just pull off. Do so carefully as 20+ year PVC can become dry and brittle. May be difficult to source replacements. Happy Motoring!... Jim'85TE
Hi
I'm interested in any '83 Turbo. I'm having to rebuild mine from the ground up due to extreme problems and damage that was discovered after the car was purchased. Here is my website:
www.erc.msstate.edu/~lwasson/Lotus
The pics aren't in order and there is no documentation.
If you ever take detailed pics of any area of the car please post them.
In reference to your question ... I've removed the dash but not the guages. Glad Jim supplied the info for both of us.
Have a good one,
louis
'83 Turbo
I'm interested in any '83 Turbo. I'm having to rebuild mine from the ground up due to extreme problems and damage that was discovered after the car was purchased. Here is my website:
www.erc.msstate.edu/~lwasson/Lotus
The pics aren't in order and there is no documentation.
If you ever take detailed pics of any area of the car please post them.
In reference to your question ... I've removed the dash but not the guages. Glad Jim supplied the info for both of us.
Have a good one,
louis
'83 Turbo
lwasson said:
I'm interested in any '83 Turbo. I'm having to rebuild mine from the ground up due to extreme problems and damage that was discovered after the car was purchased. Here is my website:
If you ever take detailed pics of any area of the car please post them.
In reference to your question ... I've removed the dash but not the guages. Glad Jim supplied the info for both of us.
Louis,
That's some serious work! The car is in my friend's shop (stored) until the weather warms up. Once it's on the road again in a month or so, I'll take a few pictures. Let me know if there is anything in particular you would like to see.
Thanks for the offer of assistance. I can assure you I'll be asking for pictures
Just a note on the 83's ... a friend of mine in Canada has an 83 too and he brought up an interesting point. There were 343 turbos built that year, mine is 248, Jan's in 267 and ours were some of the last Esprits built under Colin Chapman and his design team before Chapman past away. Don't know your sequence # but its just neat to know that 83's are special because of Chapman and the Lotus F1 racing team of that day. Lotus was at the peak of the race-car engineer game with ground effects and active suspension. A G-car was used as a test bed for the active suspension! We own true Lotus Esprits not GM or Toyota Esprits. Ours are completely mechanical with no fancy electronics or safety devices.
Since I only drove my car 24 miles before the rebuild and struggled to get it to 90mph here is another description from Jan on the handling and performance of the '83.
"The steering was excellent.. even though the trunnions are worn out! I was surprised actually. The steering is firm and very positive..it it exactly how I like it. You will be very impresssed at how stable and confidence inspiring the car is.. it feels as stable at 100mph as it does at 40!! A bit heavy at low speed.. but so what, IMO. The front end wear showed up more under braking.. The brakes feel good, but they are in need of some work to remove the slight pulling and vibration they have. The clutch feels very good, nice and progressive, not super light, but once again, Lotus have made them the way I would designed it for myself.
Drving the car aggressively at 50 to 70mph is a lot of fun. Unless you have driven a turbo car before, you will need to adjust your use of the throttle to anticipate the slight turbo lag. I found the lag is minimal, but it does affect your power-on point in the corners. Power-on out of the corners is a treat. Power delivery and handling is very predictable and it pulls hard..feels great. You need to remember that the car carries a lot of speed, and it is easy to be late on the brake points when entering a corner, so one
needs to keep that in mind. I have to admit.. Ive driven a few well sorted cars over the years, and the Lotus is very much near the top of the list!"
I can't wait to get my car to the track!! Reading Jan's comments again really helps me understand what a Lotus is all about.
louis
'83 Turbo
Just a note on the 83's ... a friend of mine in Canada has an 83 too and he brought up an interesting point. There were 343 turbos built that year, mine is 248, Jan's in 267 and ours were some of the last Esprits built under Colin Chapman and his design team before Chapman past away. Don't know your sequence # but its just neat to know that 83's are special because of Chapman and the Lotus F1 racing team of that day. Lotus was at the peak of the race-car engineer game with ground effects and active suspension. A G-car was used as a test bed for the active suspension! We own true Lotus Esprits not GM or Toyota Esprits. Ours are completely mechanical with no fancy electronics or safety devices.
Since I only drove my car 24 miles before the rebuild and struggled to get it to 90mph here is another description from Jan on the handling and performance of the '83.
"The steering was excellent.. even though the trunnions are worn out! I was surprised actually. The steering is firm and very positive..it it exactly how I like it. You will be very impresssed at how stable and confidence inspiring the car is.. it feels as stable at 100mph as it does at 40!! A bit heavy at low speed.. but so what, IMO. The front end wear showed up more under braking.. The brakes feel good, but they are in need of some work to remove the slight pulling and vibration they have. The clutch feels very good, nice and progressive, not super light, but once again, Lotus have made them the way I would designed it for myself.
Drving the car aggressively at 50 to 70mph is a lot of fun. Unless you have driven a turbo car before, you will need to adjust your use of the throttle to anticipate the slight turbo lag. I found the lag is minimal, but it does affect your power-on point in the corners. Power-on out of the corners is a treat. Power delivery and handling is very predictable and it pulls hard..feels great. You need to remember that the car carries a lot of speed, and it is easy to be late on the brake points when entering a corner, so one
needs to keep that in mind. I have to admit.. Ive driven a few well sorted cars over the years, and the Lotus is very much near the top of the list!"
I can't wait to get my car to the track!! Reading Jan's comments again really helps me understand what a Lotus is all about.
louis
'83 Turbo
Hi Jon.. I just finished removing those dammed knobs myself. One of them slid right off, the other was a bitch. The shafts are hex shaped with a spring loaded pin in each of them. Each knob has a small internal depression for the pin to rest in. On the LHS knob, it seems the pin (which have somewhat sharpish edges on them) had worn a home for itself in the inner sleeve. As a result, I could not get the bloody thing to slide off. Finally, I used two pieces of 1/8 flat bar with about a 1 inch 90 degree bend in the end of them, placed the flat of each bar behind each side of the knob and pulled like hell... it came off alright, however in the process the pin had damaged the inside surface of the sleeve. I had expected the knob would break in the process of removing it with such vigor, but it looks fine and will be able to be re-used..it was a lot tougher than it looked (being cheap english plastic and all) mind you, I will have to be careful to ensure the pin and the recess in the sleeve dont find their old home together. I know it sounds like a drastic measure.. but what else can you do?
Go team '83
Go team '83
lwasson said:
Just a note on the 83's ... a friend of mine in Canada has an 83 too and he brought up an interesting point. There were 343 turbos built that year, mine is 248, Jan's in 267 and ours were some of the last Esprits built under Colin Chapman and his design team before Chapman past away.
How did Colin see those 343 '83 cars being built,when he died the year before? did they store them for a year before fitting the VIN plates?
Louis, Like the Jalpa pictures mixed in with your lotus ones,is it yours?
I too finally got the knobs off. I had bought a tool to help remove interior panels (basically a large forked tool with a slightly bent head.) I slid it under each knob and was able to pry both off without breaking anything. Certainly something you wouldn't be able to do by hand.
Of course it's all for naught. The gauges are behind a metal piece so it's going to take a bit more effort to remove the speedo.
Of course it's all for naught. The gauges are behind a metal piece so it's going to take a bit more effort to remove the speedo.
Hey Paul
No, the YallPaw (correct pronounciation in the Deep South) is not mine but a friend you never drives it. He buys cars strictly for investment. The throttle cable had stuck after months of never firing up the engine. Beautiful car.
Guess Jan got Chapman's death dated a year too late?? I wish Chapman was still around to battle Ferrari in F1. They are the best. Looks like a long year.
I like the "Go Team 83" from F1Karting.
Have a good one,
louis
'83 Turbo
No, the YallPaw (correct pronounciation in the Deep South) is not mine but a friend you never drives it. He buys cars strictly for investment. The throttle cable had stuck after months of never firing up the engine. Beautiful car.
Guess Jan got Chapman's death dated a year too late?? I wish Chapman was still around to battle Ferrari in F1. They are the best. Looks like a long year.
I like the "Go Team 83" from F1Karting.
Have a good one,
louis
'83 Turbo
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